German Kids Beaten

Germany's soccer stars were the toast of the nation after their winning in Prague at the weekend. The victory over the Czech Republic left Joachim Löw's men top of their European Championship qualifying group and the team is now the favorite to reach the final stages next summer.

On Wednesday though, it was an almost unrecognizable side that took to the field for the friendly game against Denmark.

Löw fielded a team missing stars like Michael Ballack, Miroslav Klose and Jens Lehmann. In their place, the German coach brought in young stars Robert Enke, Simon Rolfes and Roberto Hibert.

Including substitutes, a total of seven players wore the national team colors for the first time ever in the friendly against Denmark in Duisburg as Löw experimented without the pressure of a qualifying match.

Danes rob Löw of undefeated title

But the undefeated coach paid the price in the end, with his first reverse in charge of the national side. Danish striker Niclas Bendtner scored the only goal in the 82nd minute after connecting with a good cross from Jesper Groenkjar.

However, Löw was happy with his fledgling stars.

"We are always being told to support young players in Germany, and that is what we are doing," he told ARD television. "We talked about it last October and have pretty quickly put it into practice.

"It was down to experience," the coach added. "There were a lot of young players out there and it was a very important game for their development. One day they will have to replace Frings, Ballack or Klose. We took the risk that we might lose the game, but it was great experience for the youngsters."

The most impressive of the debutants doesn't even play top-flight soccer. Patrick Helmes, from second division Cologne, had three great chances to score despite only coming on late in the game.

"It was a great feeling and a great honor," Helmes said. "But on the other hand, I'm disappointed because we didn't win. A goal for me would have been the crowning glory but it wasn't to be. I'll just have to try again against Koblenz on Sunday."

Composed first-half performance

It was the first international game to be played in Duisburg since 1933, and although the fans were a little disappointed at not seeing their heroes from the World Cup, the new, young team did inspire the crowd in the first half with some neat passing movements.

However the tempo dropped a little after the restart as both teams took the game's "friendly" label rather too literally as neither side looked intent on challenging or fighting for the ball in a very gentlemanly opening.

Denmark, fielding their strongest side, had the better of the chances in the second half but, despite some signs of dissatisfaction from the supporters, a very young and inexperienced Germany side certainly held their own on the international stage.

Even in defeat, it was a promising sign for the future.